Our last summer recap of Hokie athletes in the professional leagues.
Patrick Nyarko
Nyarko and the Fire endured a tough loss on Sunday, falling 3-2 to the Dynamo in Houston. Houston's Stuart Holden successfully blasted a penalty kick in the 83rd minute to lift the Dynamo over the Fire.Nyarko had a big impact for the second straight game in MLS play, assisting on a Chris Rolfe goal in the second half, which cut the Fire's deficit to 2-1 with 40 minutes to play. Nyarko made the pass to set up Rolfe's goal, but was not credited with an official assist.The Fire now sits at 8-4-8 for the year, after the loss broke a five-game unbeaten streak.
Kerri Gardin
Gardin's lack of playing time over the last month continued this past week, playing only ten minutes in two games combined. The Sun fell to the Minnesota Lynx, 95-88, where Gardin played seven minutes with three points. Two days later, the Sun blew away the Washington Mystics, 96-67. Gardin hardly played in this game, failing to score a basket in three minutes of action. After going 1-1 this week, the Sun remain one game above .500 at 11-10, but they still trail the Indiana Fever in the eastern conference by six games at 17-4.
Joe Saunders
Saunders took the heat in his shortest and probably worst outing of the season on Aug. 7 against the Rangers. Texas won the game 11-6, with five runs coming off of Saunders by the second inning. The former Hokie pitcher did not make it out of the second frame, giving up the five runs on five hits before being pulled by manager Mike Soscia with two outs. In the first inning, Saunders gave up back-to-back home runs to Josh Hamilton and Hank Blaylock for the first time in his career. In the official box score, it says Saunders was pulled due to tightness in his left shoulder, and was placed on the 15-day DL by the team Friday. It is his first trip to the DL in 2009. He now has a 5.33 ERA after the poor outing, and is 9-7 on the season.
Wyatt Toregas
As the newest Hokie to the major league, Toregas saw more action this week behind the plate, catching for the Cleveland Indians. On Aug. 6 against the Twins, Toregas went 0-3 in his second appearance with the team. He fared much better three days later in Chicago against the White Sox, with his first career multi-hit game, going 2-3 with three RBI in the Indians 8-4 win.
Chris Ellis/Vincent Fuller
In the first preseason game of the 2009 NFL season, the Bills and Titans met in Canton, Ohio for the annual Hall of Fame Game. Two Hokies played in the game, Bills defensive end Chris Ellis and Titans safety Vincent Fuller. The Titans won the game 21-18. Their first touchdown came on a noteworthy trick play where backup punter A.J. Trapasso faked the kick and ran 40 yards for the score.Eliis led the Bills with six tackles, four of them unassisted. Ellis is hoping to crack the playing rotation this season with Buffalo in his second year in the league. Ellis appeared in only seven games in 2008, making three tackles on the year.
The veteran Fuller made three tackles for Tennessee, although he is already an established player and does not have the pressure to make the same impression as Ellis does this preseason. Fuller had the best season of his career in 2008, playing in every game and making 47 tackles for the Titans.
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harrisburg city closes the usl2 regular season with a tough loss! http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2009/08/harrisburg_city_islanders_come.html chase now can focus on the playoffs and promotion!
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